The Best King
by Katerie T. Phillips
Summary: What did Zachary see when he looked in the tumbler's mirror during the masquerade?


AN: I considered naming this fic Distraction from Homework, but that seemed a little off somehow, so I picked a different title. This really is just something I came up with when I was looking through Blackveil to distract myself from my homework. Hopefully you'll like it.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters nor any of the names. Anything in italics is a direct quote from Blackveil, so obviously I don't own those either. That's all property of Kristen Britain and her publishers.

"_I saw the best king Sacoridia has ever known." _

If there was one thing Zachary prided himself on, it was that he did not lie. He was a politician, and yet he did not lie. True, on occasion, he'd had to stretch the truth, or omit certain details that were not to his liking, but he had never lied since he became king. (There was one time before he became king when he lied about eating his broccoli after he'd fed it to one of his terriers.)

When he told all his courtiers that he had seen the greatest king of Sacoridia, he hadn't been lying. He had seen a magnificent king. Most of the people there had probably assumed he had meant himself—after all, they had seen him looking into a simple mirror, nothing more. A few might have even thought that he was right in saying he was the best king—some people fully supported his decisions and admired the way he ruled. Most people would have disagreed though, thinking that either they or their children would have been better suited to sit upon his throne. However, those opinions hardly mattered since it wasn't himself that he had seen.

Rather, he had seen a young man with wild brown hair and a burning vigor in the way he walked, the way he looked at the people around him, and really, with everything he did. He had a feeling of being not quite there—always brilliantly, tantalizingly visible, and yet completely uncatchable. It was a maddening quality, and one that the king was painfully familiar with. He'd always felt Karigan possessed the same quality. Whenever she was near, Zachary knew it from the way everything surrounding her seemed different, brighter, than when she was absent. He knew it because when she was there, she was there for him and would do everything she could to protect her king. She was completely his when she was near, yet he couldn't have her—couldn't even really touch her. Their difference in status was a part of the problem, but it was also the feeling she gave that she wasn't entirely there. It felt as though a small part of her was somewhere else; maybe it was contemplating the meaning of life, maybe it was watching all the happenings of the world, maybe it was even talking with the Gods. Zachary would never know where she kept that part of herself—only that it was beyond his reach. This quality was incredibly infuriating, and for Zachary, painful, but it was also mesmerizing and always drew people's attention, even if they didn't know why.

From what he could see, this young man wearing the crown had the same effect on the people around him. He drew them all in with his burning eyes and his vigorous personality. He drew them in with his mystery, and yet kept them all at a distance with his wall of unworldly separation. Zachary could tell by the hungry looks in the courtier's eyes that they all wanted a claim on him. They somehow wanted to have some portion of the strange young man because they couldn't have him, and as was human nature, they wanted what they couldn't have. Despite this desire though, there was also a reverence and a fear of him that made them hesitant to make any threats that would bind him to them. Maybe they knew it was because of how clever he was and they didn't want that wit turned against them coupled with his political power. Maybe it was because they felt that although he was a light-hearted person, certainly an unusually trait for a king, if his anger was incited, it would be terrible to those it was directed at. Personally, Zachary felt that the real reason was because he was untouchable and incomprehensible. They wanted him because they felt as though to have him was forbidden. Really though, it was beyond forbidden; it was simply impossible. Their instincts kept them from trying to grab him because to do so would inevitably end in failure, no matter what their methods were.

This was an invaluable asset to a king; to have all his courtiers fascinated by him, drinking in his every word, and yet to have none of them be able to force his hand in anything. He ruled the country completely and alone. This was invaluable, yes, but it was also dangerous and could lead to corruption and misuse of his power.

Yet, Zachary could see that the young man didn't abuse his power. He didn't need to listen to anyone, and yet he did. He listened to his advisors about what he should do when he could take whatever path took his fancy. He asked his courtiers what troubles they and their people were facing when he could have just ignored them and lived in his palace and let people fawn over him. It was amazing really. He ruled the country completely and yet did it sympathetically and gently. He was the monarch people dreamed about.

No doubt he had his faults. If Zachary was to guess at these faults based on what he knew of the woman the boy so greatly resembled, he would say the boy was probably terribly stubborn and had a way of getting himself into trouble. He probably also had bursts of emotion where he told everyone what he really thought of them and what they should do to improve themselves. No doubt he hated Intrigue too. None of these were particularly desirable in a politician—especially the last one as the game was basically the life of the court. But that was why he surrounded himself with advisors who knew how to deal with his stubbornness and smooth over the problems caused by his outbursts. Besides, everyone was so besotted with his personality that they would put up with a little bit, or maybe a lot, of temper. Zachary also noticed he had a few more Weapons about him than Zachary ever had, which Zachary could only hope helped with his talent for finding trouble, though he rather doubted they blocked all trouble if he had as much talent as Karigan did.

Aside from all this, Zachary noted the boy had almond-shaped, brown eyes.

They weren't quite his eyes—the brown was a little too dark, and a little too deep. They seemed knowledgeable in things that humans weren't meant to understand, like Karigan's had been after she'd come back from the tombs. They also had too much of a mischievous twinkle to be mistaken for Zachary's eyes. However, despite the differences, the resemblance was unmistakable. He had the same jaw line as Zachary too. The shape of his body was similar, although a little more slight—probably from his mother.

It was easy to see what this vision was. The boy who bore so much resemblance to Karigan and a little to Zachary as well was obviously his son. He would have been the greatest king Sacoridia would have ever know. However, Zachary could see that this particular vision was unlikely to ever become reality. It had been faint, behind the black arrows he had seen. Maybe it was a possible future if the arrows were avoided. For some reason he didn't think they would be avoided though. The fact saddened him. Not only because it meant his personal dream to be with Karigan wouldn't come true, but also because it seemed a shame that the country he loved so dearly would never get to have such a king.

"_What did you see, Your Highness?" Estora's cousin asked._

"_Yes," other chimed in. "What did you see?"_

Zachary forced a smile. He could tell them about the black arrows, but nobody would believe him; they would think he'd had too much to drink, or that he was just being melodramatic. No point in having them think that. Of course, he couldn't lie. He didn't lie. However, he did omit certain details from time to time. He answered the question with his forced smile: _"I saw the best king Sacoridia has ever known." _

In his mind, he amended the statement: "I saw the best king Sacoridia could have known." He closed his eyes, and regretfully said goodbye to the shining young man that would have been his son while he started to prepare himself to say goodbye, hopefully not for the last time, to the shining young man that would have been his wife.


End file.
